With early-vote trends looking grim and her runoff election just over a week away, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu went on the attack Friday, accusing Republican Bill Cassidy of taking taxpayer money for work he didn't do at a Louisiana State University hospital system.
Citing reports that Cassidy worked as few as seven hours a month as a part-time doctor for the university, Landrieu said they were part of a set of "serious allegations" since there was "no evidence that any work was done" for periods of time in which Cassidy collected his paycheck. In a conference call with reporters, Landrieu's campaign asserted that Cassidy was supposed to work 30 hours a month for the pay. The hospital provided only a portion of Cassidy's time sheets in response to public records requests. Landrieu called on Cassidy to make the remaining records available ahead of a debate scheduled for Monday.
Cassidy, a physician as well as a U.S. congressman, has said that he was a salaried employee during the time in question, and therefore his hourly activities have no bearing on his paycheck. “I don’t earn more money by recording hours, I am on salary,” Cassidy told ABC News. “All I am trying to do is let LSU know what I am doing. I get the same no matter what I do.”
